


time, wondrous time

by sapphicsandseblos (solange_lol)



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: 5+1, First Kiss, Fluff, Homecoming, M/M, Seblos, happy birthday bri!, hsmtmts, jealous seb, outsiders perspective, this just in: how many different ways can liz write the homecoming scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26482834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solange_lol/pseuds/sapphicsandseblos
Summary: Five times Seb talks to Georgie about Carlos, and one time Georgie talks to Carlos about Seb
Relationships: Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	time, wondrous time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blovesmusicals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blovesmusicals/gifts).



> im not saying i wrote an entire fic in the perspective of a character who doesn't canonically exist, but what im saying is thats exactly what i did.
> 
> happy birthday bri!!! thank u for all the dms talking about predictions and fic inspiration, including this idea from a while back! i hope u can still enjoy now that ur an adult!!
> 
> btw georgie is not my character!! she belongs to dazesanddoodles who is an incredible writer and artist!! daze if ur seeing this i hope u dont mind me constantly borrowing everyones favorite m-s sib
> 
> title from invisible string by taylor swift

**1**

Georgie Matthew-Smith was protective of her little brother.

Maybe protective wasn’t the right word. She would never discourage him from doing something out of fear that it wouldn’t go over well with anyone else. In fact, she was probably his biggest supporter. 

Even when Seb came out as gay to their family, or when he expressed the interest of auditioning for Sharpay for the school musical, both risky things in Utah, she’s supported him all the way through. 

She’s tried to be everything that she had wished their older siblings had been for her.

Georgie is _aware_ of Seb, though, and who he surrounds himself with. She’s not about to gatekeep him from friend groups (not that theatre kids are the most threatening group) but she likes to just makes a note of Seb’s mood when talking about certain people so she knows what to watch out for and how to direct her advice on their drives home together.

So when Seb hops into the car after rehearsal one day, already telling her about the new choreography they learned that day with Carlos, she was curious. 

The name had come up a few times before. _Carlos._ Seb had mentioned him after auditions and how he jumped in to help Seb get the audition part from Miss Jenn, and how he congratulated Seb on the role after the cast list went up. After that, it was the occasional mention of his name with new blocking or choreography, always sounding like he had a great deal of respect from Seb.

Today, though. _Today,_ the way Seb spoke of him made Georgie wonder if perhaps Carlos was more than just the choreographer to him. She could practically see the heart in his eyes as he dreamily describes the ‘Status Quo’ choreo (which, the actual choreo itself sounded _terrifying,_ but Seb made it sound like being flung around was a dream.) 

“You said he’s a sophomore right?” she asks, subtly trying to grab more info on this Carlos before she can seek him out herself. 

“Yeah! Isn’t that so impressive? Choreographing an entire show at 15. He’s an incredible dancer,” Seb says, slumping down in his seat happily.

It takes all her will not to roll her eyes at her little brother. “So you’ve mentioned,” she laughs instead.

Just as he’s about to say something else. Seb’s phone dings with a notification, and he pulls it out of his backpack quickly, sliding open the message. Judging by the smile on his face when he reads the message, Georgie assumes either it’s Nini informing him of a new musical coming to Broadway or it’s Carlos himself. Considering Seb doesn’t mention what it says, she assumes the latter.

If one thing is for sure, though, Georgie is going to have to do some serious social media stalking on this boy.

**2**

A few weeks later, Georgie decides she likes Carlos. She was able to meet him for the first time when he and Seb accidentally bumped into her in the library, and since then she’s actually driven Carlos home a few times. He’s been able to easily fit their vibe, turning her and Seb’s car duo into a trio on rehearsal days. 

So when Seb jumps into her car, more mushy than usual without Carlos, Georgie doesn’t even get a chance to ask before he spills the news to her.

“Carlos asked me to homecoming!” 

Georgie gasps. “Sebby! That’s amazing! I didn’t think you wanted to go to homecoming!”

“Well, I didn’t originally, because I honestly didn’t know if you were willing to make the drive back to school for me. Plus Nini and Kourtney are boycotting so I didn’t know who I was going to hang out with,” he explains.

“But then Carlos and I were rehearsing the dance for ‘Bop to the Top’ and while we were cooling down, I mentioned needing more practice dancing, and he just asked!”

Georgie smiles are her little brother’s unintentional smoothness that prompted the invitation from Carlos. “I’m happy for you. And of course, I’ll make the drive, as long as you promise to show me pictures.”

Seb rolls his eyes. “Okay, _mom.”_

“Do you know what you’re going to wear?” she asks, turning into the driveway of their house. 

“Carlos is going to text me a photo of what he’s wearing, and hopefully, I have something that matches,” he tells her as he swings his backpack around his shoulder. “Otherwise, I only have about three hours before the dance to try and find something that does.”

“Well, if you need an emergency shopping trip, I’m down,” Georgie says, opening the door only for their mom to rush past them towards the barn.

“Come quick, guys,” she calls over her shoulder. “It’s Dorothy.”

Seb and Georgie glance at each other with wide eyes at the mention of their family cow, one that they’ve had for as long as she’s been alive. 

They both drop their backpacks inside and run after their mom.

**3**

After the unfortunate death of their cow, Georgie honestly wasn’t sure if Seb was going to make it to the dance. It had been a long nearly 4 hour period as they stayed with the cow before her passing, and another hour of the entire Matthew-Smith grieving together. 

Only at the last minute when they had returned to the house that Seb started receiving texts from Carlos asking where he was. Both he and Georgie had cursed silently and Seb rushed to get ready, hoping that even while he was nearly 3 hours late, that Carlos would have saved him a dance.

The drive from their house to the school, always taking at least 30 minutes, was tense as Seb attempted to frantically text Carlos an apology and panic over not getting a response. 

After she dropped Seb off at the school, Georgie hangs around the surrounding city area, visiting various stores as she waits to hear word from her brother. She had decided to not drive all the way home until Seb was back in case it didn’t go well and he wanted to be picked up. (Plus, because by the time she got home, someone would have had to head back to pick him up anyway. There was no use in making that drive back when Seb was only going to catch the last hour of the dance at most.)

She’s in Target when she gets a _dance over, you can come pick me up now_ text from Seb that makes her heart drop just a bit.

Luckily, homecoming must have been a little more exciting than the bland tone in his text, because when she pulls up to the school, Seb is sitting on a bench outside with Carlos. They’re talking in hushed tones, heads close together, and Georgie could swear that their hands were clasped underneath their suit jackets.

Upon Georgie’s arrival, though, Seb quickly stood up, giving Carlos a quick yet heartfelt goodbye as he headed towards the car, promising to text him over the weekend.

“Do you need a ride?” Georgie calls out to him when Seb opens the passenger door.

“No, I’m good,” Carlos smiles back softly, eyes diverted more towards her brother than herself. “My mom is on her way.”

Seb is still standing outside the car with the door open, looking at Carlos like he’s trying to decide something. He turns his head towards Georgie quickly, flashing her a don’t say a word look before skipping back over to Carlos and kissing him.

Georgie turns to look the other way, giving them their moment, but she hears Seb softly tell him “Thank you for waiting.”

“Thank you for showing up,” Carlos says, then quiet for a moment until they’re wishing each other goodnight, and Seb is back in the car buckling his seatbelt.

She waits until they’re out of the East High parking lot and back on the road until she finally asks. “So, what was that all about?” 

Seb blushes. “Oh… you know,” he says dreamily.

“What did you tell him?”

“The truth,” he says. “And that at least our ties matched.”

“And? What else?”

“And that’s it. We danced. We talked-”

“You kissed.”

“Yeah,” Seb smiles softly. “Yeah, we did that too.”

He reaches for his phone, plugging it into the aux as he searches for a song. After a moment, a gentle tune begins to play.

_It’s great to be in love on Valentine’s day._

Georgie raises a knowing eyebrow. “Haven’t heard this one before,” she says as she hums along to the melody.

The deep shade of pink that Seb turns says it all.

**4**

“Georgie?” Seb asks, standing at the edge of the doorway to her room one day. “Do you think I’m a bad boyfriend?”

Georgie looks up from her math homework. Seb had been unusually quiet on the ride home from rehearsal, especially considering his excited mood arriving at the school for the photoshoot they had in the morning. She had decided not to pry. At least, not yet. Whatever happened during rehearsal, she was waiting to let him process and come to her later.

Which appeared to be now.

“No, I wouldn’t say you are,” she says slowly, moving her notebook to her nightstand so Seb can sit on the bed. “What makes you think that?”

He crawls up next to her. “Carlos was running rehearsal today because Miss Jenn is probably getting fired, but everyone started yelling at him and I didn’t defend him.”

Georgie blinked. “Wait, what? Miss Jenn is getting fired? Wait, start from the beginning.”

“She lied on her resumé or something and they found out, so now they’re having a trial for her tomorrow with the school board about whether or not she can stay as our drama teacher,” Seb pulls his knees up to his chest, picking at a loose thread on his sock. (They had little cows on them; it was the pair she had bought for him at Target the night of homecoming just in case he needed cheering up. She ended up giving them to him as a celebration of his new relationship instead.)

“She only told Carlos about it this morning so he knew to run rehearsal by himself. He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but everyone started turning on him today while he was staging a number and they didn’t like his idea, and while he was trying to get them to listen, I guess it just slipped out.” 

“And you didn’t say anything to help him?”

“No,” he says miserably. “I _wanted_ to, but everything just happened so fast. I didn’t know when to jump in or what to say. And then everyone started to leave, and Carlos called off rehearsal, and I just… left.”

“Have you talked to him since?” she asks.

“I texted him an apology, and he said it wasn’t my fault and that I didn’t do anything wrong. We’re supposed to meet up at Big Red’s later to talk about what to do as well but I just feel like I should have done more.”

“Well, there’s nothing you can do now. If Carlos says it’s okay, it’s probably okay, bud.”

“But what if _he’s_ not okay?” Seb asks, turning to face her, and for the first time, Georgie realizes how much he really cares about Carlos. 

Seb has always been empathetic. Humans, cows, plants, you name it, he gives it emotions. Everything he meets gets a special place in his world. The amount he cares about others is unlike anything Georgie has ever experienced, and it’s both a blessing and a curse for him.

She has to be careful when she notices. There’s a fine line between wanting others to be happy, and having that mindset begin to cloud your vision so much that you don’t notice that it’s actually _you_ who isn’t feeling okay.

“Relationships are about trust and communication. You have to trust him that he told you that he’s not upset at you for not standing up for him and that he understands that you meant to,” Georgie explains to him. “If he’s not feeling the best right now, you have to let him ride the wave. You can’t push away bad feelings.”

He chews his lip.“So what do I do?” 

“Be there for him?” she offers gently.

There’s a silence for a moment as Seb thinks over her words. After a moment, Georgie speaks again. 

“Are _you_ okay?”

Seb looks up, surprised. “What?”

“I mean, it sounds like everyone had kind of a hard day. Just checking to make sure you’re holding up okay.”

“I’m fine,” he says, and thankfully, he sounds pretty sincere. “I’m just worried about Carlos.”

“Well, don’t worry about him so much that you forgot to check in on yourself,” she says, poking him in the ribs with her pen. “You matter too, y’know.”

“Really?” he asks, and she notes his teasing tone. “That’s a lot, coming from you.”

Georgie pokes him in the ribs again, this time a little harder as she rolls her eyes at him. “Does me driving you and from school almost every day mean nothing to you?”

“No, it does. In fact…” Seb trails off, raising a hopeful eyebrow.

“I’m assuming you want me to drive you to Big Red’s?” 

“If you would?”

“Of course,” she says, before pushing him off the side of her bed with her leg. “Now go get ready. You can’t save your teacher's career with cow socks on.”

Seb scrunches his nose at her. “You can do _anything_ with cow socks on.”

**5**

Seb slides into the car at 7:30 on the dot the night of their tech rehearsal.

“I thought you guys weren’t getting out until late,” Georgie says as she pulls out of the El Ray parking lot. “We already ate. Mom thought they would be giving you dinner.”

“Oh, they did. We got pizza. They just let us out early,” Seb says, resting his head on his palm as he stares out the window.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, glancing over at him. Sure, it’s late, and tech rehearsal must have been tiring, but usually, Seb comes out of rehearsals with more energy than when he goes in. At least for the first five minutes.

“I’m okay. I’m worried the show isn’t going to come together in time, though. Carlos told me before he left that Miss Jenn is bringing the show back to East High, so I don’t know how that’s going to work, and we have less than a week to pull it together.”

“Where are your guys gonna perform at East High? I thought you said the repairs for the auditorium were going to take at least a month?” Georgie asks. Her stomach twists remembering the text Seb sent her during homeroom that the theatre burned down over the long weekend. It had taken all her will not to get up and leave class so she could go hug him.

“No clue. The cafeteria could be authentic, maybe, but I don’t think we would have enough room. And the gym… I don’t know.”

“Well, whatever happens, you’re still going to be the star of the show. I’m excited to see the Ryan lines read by Rico instead of me,” she says, elbowing him gently.

Seb laughs shortly. “Yeah, except I’m still tripping over some of my lines, and Rico can’t quite get the lead with the dance for ‘Bop to the Top.’ Plus there’s something strange going on between Ricky and Nini-”

“Wait, I thought they were like… totally over,” Georgie says. She had gotten her share of gossip about the cast (which there was a surprising amount of) through various rides home with Seb and Carlos, and yet still she could not keep up.

“They _were_ until EJ and Nini broke up, and now Nini is back on board or something. I don’t know, they keep giving each other these _looks.”_

Georgie has to resist the urge to laugh. Doesn’t her little brother know the way he looks at Carlos? 

“What about Gina?” she asks instead. “Any word from her.”

“Nothing,” Seb sighs. “Carlos doesn't think she’s going to make it home for opening night.”

“That’s too bad,” Georgie frowns. She had only met Gina once before, but she respected her talent and ambition. 

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Her dance break was like, the best part about ‘Status Quo’.”

“Excuse me? Coming from _the_ Sharpay Evans?”

“Okay, yeah, but you never got to see the dance break. Carlos worked it out with her. It was epic.”

Georgie rolls her eyes teasingly. “What about Ashlyn? I haven’t heard about her in a little while.”

“That’s because she spends all her time making heart eyes at Big Red,” he informs her.

“Ashlyn and Big Red, huh? Wasn’t expecting that duo.”

“Yeah, well, unexpected pairings must run in the family, because her cousin was hitting on Carlos today.”

Georgie almost stops the car short. _“EJ_ was hitting on Carlos. Like, water polo captain EJ? The guy who was just in love with Nini?”

“Okay, maybe he wasn’t _hitting_ on Carlos, but they were reading for Troy and Gabriella today-”

Georgie cuts him off. “Why weren’t Ricky and Nini reading for Troy and Gabriella.”

“Red was working on lighting. Nini and Ricky were in the back of the theatre together rehearsing,” Seb explains, and Georgie nods along. “Carlos and EJ were filling in for their spots, and EJ got, like, _way_ too into it. Started leaning into Carlos, put his hand on his cheek. It was weird. Not to mention _I was right there!”_

“Ohhhhhh,” Georgie says teasingly, resisting the smirk that keeps trying to cross her face. “So _that’s_ what this mood was about.”

“What?” 

“You’re jealous.”

“I’m not!” he defends.

“EJ was just acting, you know that right? I’m pretty sure he’s like _the straightest_ guy at our school.”

“You never know,” Seb points out. “We both watched _Glee.”_

She rolls her eyes. “Stop trying to deny it. Carlos is _your_ boyfriend. It’s okay for you to not like the idea of someone else showing romantic interest in him. In fact, I would probably be concerned if you didn't. Plus, I’m sure he would find it endearing.”

“Yeah, sure,” Seb crosses his arms, though she can hear the delight in his voice. “If you tell him, I’ll kill you.”

“Yeah, sure,” she repeats after him, making Seb punch her (gently) in the arm.

“Shut up.”

“Love you too, Sebby.”

**_+1_ **

If Georgie was being totally honest, the East High production of _High School Musical_ was… a rollercoaster. 

It wasn’t _great._

It wasn’t bad either. Everyone in the cast were good singers, for the most part, so the songs came together, and the costumes and makeup were amazing, but some of the acting and set design choices were questionable. Sure, everything had to be done last minute, but that rolling lockers backdrop was… a choice. If she was being totally honest, it was kind of entertaining to see how bad some of the actors were considering their musical talent. 

(Their mom shushed Georgie during breaking free when she started snickering a little too loudly at the drama between Troy, his understudy, and Gabriella.)

Seb, of course, stole the show in every scene. Between him, Ashlyn, and Gina, (who made a surprise appearance during ‘Status Quo’,) they were all triple threats in their performances, and honestly, the only thing holding the show together. She almost forgot during ‘Stick to the Status Quo’ that it was her little brother up on stage and not Ashley Tisdale with a shorter haircut.

Once the show ended, Georgie waited with the rest of the families in the front foyer as they waited for all the actors to come out. She overheard some families discussing their favorite parts, and Georgie could help but beam proudly every time she heard someone mention Seb.

When Seb finally did come out to the foyer, hand in hand with Carlos, Georgie was first to hug him immediately.

“I liked your signs,” he tells her.

“Those were Mom’s idea,” she laughs, then “you took your makeup off,” noticing his faded stained pink lips as well as the stripe on the side of his head. 

Behind him, she notices Carlos creeping closer, holding something behind his back. He nods his head towards Seb, and she winks.

Seb shrugs. “Honestly, I think I mostly sweat it off. It was hot up there”

Georgie pulls Seb back into another hug. “You did so well, bud. Does this mean I get to stop hearing you belt your Sharpay songs in the mirror every night?”

“Maybe. Only until the spring musical,” he answers slyly.

When Seb turns around, Carlos is standing behind him, a massive rainbow bouquet in hand. His mouth drops open, but nothing comes out. 

Carlos fills in for him. “It’s not much compared to Big Red’s flowers, but personally, you were the star of the show to me, so,” he holds them out. “These are for you.”

Seb takes the bouquet, then grabs Carlos’s arm and pulls him in for a kiss in front of the entire Matthew-Smith family.

After break apart, there’s only soft _awww’s_ and flushed faces as Seb quietly thanks him before the rest of their family pull Seb aside to congratulate him on the show.

As they do so, Georgie notices Carlos now standing off to the side, looking like he’s still processing in the entire night.

“You really choreographed that entire show?” she asks, approaching him.

He looks at her in surprise. “Yeah, I did.”

“That’s really impressive Carlos.”

“Oh,” he breaks into a smile. “Thank you. All thanks to the cast managing to put it on, I guess. Seb did amazing.

“Yeah, he did,” she agrees, then tilts her head. “You really like him, don’t you.”

“I- yeah. I love him,” Carlos says, then his eyes widen like he didn’t mean to say it.

Georgie smiles softly. “Well? Are you gonna tell him?”

“Maybe,” Carlos matches his smile. “Though I think he might already know.”

“I think I’m supposed to give you a shovel talk about not breaking his heart, but honestly, I don’t think I have to worry too much,” she nudges his shoulder with hers. “You two need each other.”

“What if we do break up?”

“Do you have any intention to?”

Carlos squints “Didn’t I just tell you I love him?”

“You tell me.”

“How does Seb talking stand you?”

Georgie crosses her arm, smiling. “Years of practice, and many, many car rides.”

Carlos bites his lip like he’s trying to keep from smiling. Interacting with him is different than interacting with Seb, sure, but it honestly feels to Georgie like he’s just another brother.

“No, I don’t want to break up with him.

“Then we’re not going to think about the _what-ifs,”_ she says. “You don’t want to miss what’s happening _right now.”_

“Speaking of which, we have people to talk to right now,” Seb says, coming up behind Carlos, and grabbing his hand with his hand not still holding the bouquet “Georgia, stop harassing my boyfriend.”

“I wasn’t harassing anyone, Sebastian,” Georgie shoots back, knowing Seb hates his full name just as much as she doesn’t like hers. “Now go enjoy your party. Let me know if you need a ride home.”

They give her matching grins before skipping off towards Ashlyn and EJ. Georgie watches them as they go together, easily interacting with one another. If she had to bet money on any high school couple, well, it may be too early to tell, but she just has a feeling.

Carlos leans in and kisses Seb on the cheek, causing his face to scrunch up happily, and Georgie’s heart swells seeing her brother so happy.

Yeah, they’ll be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if the ending was rushed oops. everyone e go tell bri happy birthday! and also stream her fic so it peer pressures her into starting it again <3
> 
> as always im on twitter @SE3LOS and on tumblr @klaineiac


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